Mika in Chicago!!!

My sister and I went to see Mika at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago yesterday, and boy was it a fun show! I don't generally go to concerts; they're expensive and crowded and I have to really like the artist to want to go. After this, it will be hard to top the experience with anybody else.

If you're not familiar with Mika, get your little fanny over to iTunes and check out Life in Cartoon Motion and The Boy Who Knew Too Much. His music is bouncy, fun, and full of really great messages that leave a smile on your face. I defy you to listen to "Lollipop" without breaking into a grin.

His show was just as much fun as his music; full of neon colors, black light, feathers, puppets (yes, puppets) and just plain bouncing around joy, this was a real happiness to take part in. There were entire songs where you could feel the balcony shake from all the people dancing on it; you just couldn't help it.

What was especially nice was that Mika is still on the cusp of being really big, so he isn't beyond surprise and awe at the reception of the screaming fans who know every word to his songs. When everyone chimed in with the shouted chorus to the rock anthem "We Are Golden" perfectly on cue, he looked floored and humbled, and throughout the night he commented on our energy. I hope he was having as much fun as we all were;)

Everything was fabulous, from the costumes, the background dancers (during "Big Girls", he had Rubenesque fly-girls in neon corsets), the band in their pseudo-'50's black and white outfits, the giant walking teapot (don't ask!) . . . it was just joyful. Can I say fun again? Pretty please? Well, it was;)


He ended with an encore where he did two favorites, "Grace Kelly" and "Lollipop". He brought the house down, for sure; you can hear me "singing" a little on the video;)

BTW: Tab and I were originally seated in the first row behind the VIP section in the balcony, but during the preshow music, which was a collection of ecclectic songs like "Always A Woman" and "Bear Neccessities", they played "The Trolley Song" from "Meet Me In St. Louis". I was in that in High School, and I still know all the words, so you guessed it: Tab and I sang it, loudly. The security guy shined his flashlight on us at one point, laughing a little, and I guess he must have been amused enough to offer us a change in seats. Mika had just come out, and he asked us if he wanted to move up. We got to sit in the very center of the last row of VIP seats, and I had a fabtastic view all night. It pays to be a ham;)